In tiling a surface individual tiles are set onto adhesive applied to the surface of a floor or substrate. The tiles are arranged in a predetermined pattern on the surface and are separated by intertile grout lines or simply grout lines. After the adhesive is sufficiently cured bonding the tiles in place, grout is applied into the grout lines. In the process of setting the individual tiles, spacers are often applied in the grout lines to ensure a uniform spacing between the individual tiles. Typical tile spacers are made of semi-rigid plastic having depths ranging from, for instance, ⅛ to 3/16 of an inch, with spacing widths of between 1/16 of an inch and ⅜ of an inch. For brick, cement block and larger tile forms, larger sizes of spacers, with considerably more depth, are used.
The spacers of conventional tile spacers have rectangular or square cross sections. When such a conventional spacer is positioned in a grout line separating adjacent tiles, opposing flat surfaces of the spacer reside in juxtaposition to the opposing confronting edges of the adjacent tiles. If the spacer is twisted or moved during installation or adjustment, it is common for the spacer to act on the confronting edges of the adjacent tiles pushing the opposing tiles apart if the spacer is accidentally twisted or jarred thereby misaligning the adjacent tiles. Also, because conventional spacers have square or rectangular cross sections, such tile spacers are difficult if not impossible to adjust while installed in the grout line without jarring the adjacent tiles out of alignment. Moreover, after a conventional tile spacer is installed in a grout line, it is virtually impossible to make minor adjustments to the adjacent tiles prior to the adhesive curing without causing the tile spacer to shift or twist, which, again, is due principally to the square or rectangular cross section of the spacer applied to the grout line.
Given these and other deficiencies in the art of tile spacers, the need for continuing improvement in the art is evident.